A Budding Photographer

My firstborn is now 5 years old. He is the reason I took up knitting and crocheting. He is also the reason I invested in a good camera. And by good camera, I mean one that is better than the tiny digital camera I used for vacation photos in 2006. I use my camera to take product photos, and to take photos of him and his sisters who model my creations. Recently, I have caught him playing with a toy camera. He was pretending to be a photographer. On one of those occasions, I had my camera in my hands so I snapped a few photos of him trying to take a "picture" of me. He is really interested in my camera. On occasion, I even let him press the button on my camera to capture a photo.

I never thought I would enjoy photography so much. Beyond the typical tourist photos on vacations, I did not really feel the call to take photos. Even with the invention of the camera phone, I did not use it very often. Maybe it is when I had children, or maybe it was the development of my product photography. Whatever it was, I have really jumped into photography. From setting up a shot, to editing the final look, I can see my own development even from just a few weeks ago. My photography journey is still in its infancy, and it appears I will have a buddy to join me. 

I would love to hear your favorite photography story! Tell me in the comments!

~Sarah Liz

Blanket of Roses

When I named my 3rd baby Angela Rose, I knew I need to make something with roses for her. I found a pattern for a rose and I made a whole mountain of them. Ok, it was just 20 roses, but it did take a while to get them all done. I did a combination of colors for this. Besides the solid colors, I did 2 of the colors with white in the middle, and the red or pink on the last row to make it look like a variegated rose. Those turned out to be my favorite of all the colors. Once I had all of the roses done, I made some pretty leaves in 2 colors to add some dimension.

The part that probably took the longest (besides actually crocheting the roses) was arranging the roses in a "random" pattern. I am just a little OCD, and I could not settle on an arrangement I liked. I finally got a good arrangement and started sewing them all together. 

It was incomplete, so I decided to make a headband. I used the same rose pattern but only did the last 2 rows to make the smaller rose for the headband. I added some ties to I could adjust it to her head.

This is still one of my favorite projects I have done. I would love to see some of your favorite projects. Tag me on instagram @craftsbysarahliz so I can connect with you!

Happy Crafting!

~Sarah Liz

Homegrown Models

My children have greatly inspired my product lines. To me, nothing is cuter than seeing babies in one of my creations. Naturally, I engage the services of my children to model my adorable creations. I may be biased, okay definitely biased, but I think that they are just the cutest little models that you ever did see.

My first model was my son. I like to call him the One-Shot-Wonder. He is so photogenic that I often get a great photo on the first click. Just look at those eyes! He is such a sweetheart, and he loves getting his photo taken. When I am taking photos of his sisters, he usually asks to have some taken as well. Who could say no to photographing this happy child? Now that he is a little older he likes to hold my camera (with my hand ready to catch the potentially falling camera) and he likes to be the photographer!

I thought I took a lot of photos of my son. But then I had a daughter. I went overboard. Way, way overboard. She was, and is, more of a challenge to photograph than my son. I often have to shoot using the sports mode because she rarely sits still (read: never ever stops moving). But she is a little charmer, and she knows it. I just love her curious nature, and my favorite way to photograph her is to follow her around the yard with my camera. The photo above of her modeling my Earhart Aviator Hat perfectly captures her fabulous personality.

My youngest is not quite as fond of the camera as my older two. She is simply stunning when I can get a good photo of her, but she has her own ideas of when and where that should be (read: fed, rested, and fresh diaper). I have to work a little harder to get her to smile for me. But when she does, it lights up the whole room.

I adore my little homegrown models. I love capturing their personalities through the lens. I love scrolling through photos on my computer and watching them grow up right before my eyes. Best of all, I love having these memories captured to enjoy forever.

What are some of your favorite things about photography? Do you have your own homegrown models to work with?

Happy Photographing!
-SarahLiz

An Accidental Amateur Photographer

Photo: Sarah Gross

I stumbled into photography. Seriously, I stumbled. Prior to 2014, my photos consisted of vacation photos, snapshots of my son, and the occasional selfie. And I am sad to say that the quality of the photos was not good. They were blurry, filled with shadows, generally not very appealing to the eye.

Then I opened my Etsy shop in the summer of 2013. I started realizing how much photography aided or hindered my business. I did not have a good camera. My cell phone did not have a good quality camera either. So in 2014, I took the plunge and purchased a DSLR camera. My world changed. Even though I was (and still am) a novice with this kind of equipment, my photos look so much better. The detail I was able to capture blew me away. Suddenly my photos in my shop actually looked good! I still cringe when I look at the photos that I used then compared to the ones I use now.

My first attempt at product photos

A much better product photo

Although the majority of my work is with product photography, I love taking photos of my 3 children. I have a lot still to learn about photography, but I will be sharing what I have learned so far. I hope you can learn from my cringe-worthy mistakes, and get better photos than I did starting out. Here's my #1 tip that helped me the most.

Use Natural Lighting!!!

The first photo baby booties photo was taken inside, at night, and with the flash on. Fellow photographers may now groan or cringe at hearing this. The best starting advice I can give is to set yourself up with some great natural light. I highly suggest shooting during the day, and using indirect sunlight. I usually set up near a window in the morning light. It is a lot easier to get quality photos if you can start out with some quality lighting.

In the coming weeks, I will be sharing some more tips for things that I had to learn the hard way. I will also introduce you to my on-call models, my three children, and the fun and difficulties that they bring.

Happy Photographing!
~Sarah Liz